When you leave a job—whether you chose to leave or the job left you—there's this weird in-between space that most of us rush right through. We immediately start hunting for the next thing, updating our resume, networking frantically.
But what if that in-between moment is actually the most important part?
I learned this lesson through an unexpected teacher: Ariana Grande's "thank u, next." Yes, I know it's about romantic breakups. But when I first heard this song, all I could think about were my own career breakups: the jobs I'd left, the jobs that had left me, the times when a company moved in a direction I couldn't follow.
And I realized: we never really process our career transitions the way we process relationship endings. We just... move on. But there's so much wisdom waiting for us in that pause.
Watch me perform "thank u, next" and share why this song has become my anthem for career transitions...plus the surprising lesson it taught me about gratitude.
Why I Relate "thank u, next" to Career Breakups
Here's my confession: I've had multiple "career breakups" in my life.
Sometimes I was the one who left. I'd grown beyond the role, or the work wasn't aligned with who I was becoming. Sometimes circumstances forced the change. A boss had to let me go, or the company pivoted in ways I couldn't support.
And every single time, I'd find myself in that uncomfortable space between what was and what's next. No title. No clear direction. Just... uncertainty.
When "thank u, next" came out, I was in one of those in-between moments. And as I listened to Ari sing about her exes—"one taught me love, one taught me patience, one taught me pain"—something clicked.
My past jobs had done the same thing.
One taught me how to lead. One taught me resilience. One taught me what I absolutely DON'T want in my work life (which turned out to be just as valuable as knowing what I do want).
But I'd never actually taken the time to acknowledge that. To say "thank you, next" to those career chapters with genuine gratitude for what they'd given me: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
What Happens When You Don't Process Career Transitions
Most of us are conditioned to move fast after leaving a job. Update LinkedIn. Send emails. Find the next thing ASAP.
But here's what I've learned as a life purpose coach working with professionals at career crossroads: when you skip the reflection phase, you often end up repeating the same patterns.
You take a new job that looks different on the surface but recreates the same dynamics that weren't working before. You chase a higher salary without asking if the work itself will light you up. You stay stuck in "shoulds" instead of getting clear on what's actually calling you.
The in-between space—that pause between jobs—is where your wisdom lives. It's where you can ask:
- What did this last chapter teach me?
- What do I want to carry forward?
- What am I ready to leave behind?
- What's trying to emerge next?
But you can't access that wisdom through logic alone. You need to drop into your heart and soul, and that's where music comes in.
How Music Helps You Process Career Transitions
In my Pop, Place and Grace (PPG) work, I use music as a healing modality to help people navigate life and career transitions. Here's why it works:
Music bypasses your analytical mind. When you're trying to figure out your next career move, your brain goes into overdrive: pros and cons lists, salary calculations, risk assessments. But major life transitions aren't purely logical decisions. Music helps you access the emotional and somatic intelligence that your thinking mind can't reach.
Songs hold emotional truth. A song like "thank u, next" gives you permission to acknowledge the full complexity of an ending: the gratitude AND the pain, the lessons AND the loss. That's what real processing looks like.
Singing/listening creates release. Whether you're singing along (like I did in the livestream) or just listening deeply, music creates a pathway for emotions to move through you instead of staying stuck. This is especially powerful during transitions when you might be holding grief, anger, relief, or uncertainty that needs expression.
Music connects you to your inner wisdom When you give yourself space to be with a song that resonates, insights emerge. You might suddenly know what you need to do next, or finally understand why a past job wasn't the right fit. Your inner guidance system speaks through feeling, not logic, and music is the language of feeling.
Try This: Your Own "thank u, next" Practice
If you're currently between jobs or considering a career change, here's a simple practice:
Step 1: Think about your most recent job or career chapter (or the one you're considering leaving).
Step 2: Put on "thank u, next" by Ariana Grande...or any song that helps you feel your feelings without judgment.
Step 3: As you listen, reflect on:
- What did this job/chapter teach you?
- What gifts did it give you (skills, relationships, clarity about what you don't want)?
- What are you genuinely grateful for, even if it was hard?
- What's one thing you learned about yourself?
Step 4: If you feel moved to, sing along or move your body. Let the music help you release whatever needs to move.
Step 5: Journal what came up. No censoring. Just capture the wisdom.
This is about reclaiming your own learning and power from every experience.
Common Questions About Using Music for Career Transitions
Q: What if I don't feel grateful for my last job, and it was actually terrible? You don't have to feel grateful for mistreatment, toxicity, or harm. But you CAN acknowledge what YOU learned from being in that situation, even if what you learned was "I deserve better" or "I will never accept that again." Those are powerful lessons worth honoring before you move forward.
Q: Is this just for people who lost their jobs? Not at all. This practice is equally valuable if you're the one choosing to leave, if you're considering a career pivot, or if you're just feeling unfulfilled and exploring what's next. Any transition is an opportunity to reflect and integrate your learning.
Q: How is this different from just listening to music while I job search? Casual listening is great, but this is intentional musical healing. You're creating space specifically to process, reflect, and access deeper wisdom. It's the difference between background noise and a purposeful practice.
Q: What if I'm not "between jobs" but just feeling stuck in my current role? This practice works beautifully for that too. You can reflect on what your current job is teaching you (even if it's "this isn't my path") and use that clarity to inform your next move, whether that's staying and shifting something internally, or knowing it's time to go.
Experience Musical Healing for Career Transitions
This "thank u, next" practice is just one example of how I work with songs to help people navigate career and life crossroads.
Want to go deeper?
Join my Logic to Light Masterclass - I teach my framework for making soul-aligned career decisions: not only from your mind, but by tapping into your heart and soul. When you make decisions from that deeper place, you open up possibilities you couldn't see from pure logic.
This Masterclass includes a special bonus playlist of songs (like "thank u, next") that help you process different aspects of career transition.
Experience PPG (Pop, Place and Grace) Live - In my full PPG experience, you can request songs that are meaningful to YOU and receive musical healing in real time. We vibe together, process together, and help each other move into our best next steps. Learn more here.
Watch PPG Lite - These shorter livestream sessions (like the one above) let you experience my musical healing approach and see if it resonates with you. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to catch me live on PPG Lite.